Saint of the Day (September 4, 2007) - St. Rose of Viterbo*

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Rose achieved sainthood in only 18 years of life. Even as a child Rose had a great desire to pray and to aid the poor. While still very young, she began a life of penance in her parents’ house. She was as generous to the poor as she was strict with herself. At the age of 10 she became a Secular Franciscan and soon began preaching in the streets about sin and the sufferings of Jesus.

Viterbo, her native city, was then in revolt against the pope. When Rose took the pope's side against the emperor, she and her family were exiled from the city. When the pope's side won in Viterbo, Rose was allowed to return. Her attempt at age 15 to found a religious community failed, and she returned to a life of prayer and penance in her father's home, where she died in 1251. Rose was canonized in 1457.

Comment:

The list of Franciscan saints seems to have quite a few men and women who accomplished nothing very extraordinary. Rose is one of them. She did not influence popes and kings, did not multiply bread for the hungry and never established the religious order of her dreams. But she made a place in her life for God's grace, and like St. Francis before her, saw death as the gateway to new life.

Quote:

Rose's dying words to her parents were: "I die with joy, for I desire to be united to my God. Live so as not to fear death. For those who live well in the world, death is not frightening, but sweet and precious."


(This entry appears in the print edition of Saint of the Day.)


*the above mentioned are added to this post from the mails recieved from - "AmericanCatholic. org" goodnews@americancatholic.org


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A good friend of mine, shreedhar (http://www.orkut.com/Profile.aspx?uid=4285683754807292048), used to pen me daily with the word of god for that day, at times from the reading of that day or otherwise. And what I used to like so much is the prayer and thought that he is used to add. With his permission I have added it below, so will do everyday possible.


Today's Scripture

"Cast your burdens on the Lord, releasing the weight of them and He will sustain you." (Psalm 55:22)

Today's WordJesus said in John 14:27, "I'm leaving you My peace. I'm giving it unto you." The Amplified version says, "Now stop allowing yourself to be agitated and disturbed. And do not permit yourselves to become unsettled." God has done His part to give you His peace. As a child of God, His peace is on the inside of you right now. You've got to do your part and make the decision to live in peace.When negative circumstances arise, and you make the choice to stay calm and live in peace, you are showing that you have faith and trust in God. You are saying, "God, I know that You are in control, I know that You're going to see me through. I know that no weapon formed against me is going to prosper." Today, choose to keep peace in your life. When you cast your burdens on Him, He promises to sustain you-that's a place of true peace, a place of lasting power!

A Prayer for Today

God, what an amazing discovery to find that Your perfect peace is within me! I trust You and will tap into that peace when life tries to steal it away. Thank you for giving me power over negative attitudes! In Jesus' Name - Amen.



Thank you , God bless...